Purascharana

Purash means “next” or “forward” and charana means “step” or “course.” A

purashcharana is “the next step forward” in practice—a means of taking your meditation
to a new level.
Purascharana means pura charati iti, that means, that which is performed before or
prior. Before the deity or prior to the mantra siddhi. We will come to the q what is mantra
siddhi later. Now, what should be done before or prior to complete a purascharana.

Purascharana means repeating a mantra for a particular number of times and for a
period of time. This is the first and important part of the purascharana. There are five
parts / limbs to a purascharana, 1. Mantra japa (repetition of mantra) 2. Homa (fire
obulation using the mantra) 3. Tarapana (water obulation using mantra) 4. Marjana
(ritualistic sprinkling of water) and 5. Bhojana (feeding of Brahmins / Sadhus).

Japa – repeating the mantra for a specified number of times. This is normally n Lakh
times, where n stands for the number of characters / alphabets in the mantra. If the
mantra is a very big one, than, it is also accepted as 1 lakh repetition. And, at the
beginning of the japa everyday, the puja should be performed to the mantra deity or the
yantra for the particular mantra.

Homa – after performing the reqired number of japa. The Homa should be performed
using the same mantra adding a “swaha” to it. And the number of times the homa should
be performed is 1 / 10th of the Japa. Likewise, the later stages in the purascharana is 1 /
10th of the former stage. The obulation material or the material for the offering in the fire
is generally Ghee (clarified butter), but sometimes, may vary according to the purpose of
the pursacharana.

Tarpana – water mixed with milk or jiggery etc. is used to perform tarpana. In this, the
water is taken in a spoon and it will be poured through the palm, leaving the thumb. This
too should be done using the mantra and a “tarpayami” added to it.

Marjana – the water is taken in a bowl and a small piece of ginger it tied to the tip of it,
through which the water is sprinkled on oneself or the yantra. The sprinkling should be
done using the mantra suffixed with a “marjayami” to it.

Bhojana – number equal to 1 / 10th of the number of marjana should be fed, as the last
part of the purascharana.

Importance of Purascharana:

Bhaskararaya says:

मन्त्रसाधने हि द्वावुपायौ यावज्जीवं हनयतो जपः पुरश्चरणरूपश्च |

ऐहिके काम्यप्रयोगे तु पुरश्चरणं हवना नाहधकारः |
आमु ष्मिकमात्रार्थे पुरश्चरणं हवनाऽहप हनत्यजपमात्रेण हनवााि इहत ष्मथर्थहतः ||
There are two approaches to mantra-sadhana, one is nitya-japa till one is alive, the
other is purashcharana. For aihika (worldly) prayogas of kamya nature, one is not
qualified without first completing successful purashcharana ( like without first earning
money, how can one spend it?) However, if the purpose is Amushmika (other-worldly
such as moksha) alone, one need not perform formal purashcharana and stick to nitya-
japa throughout one’s life. Of course, even in the second case, Bhaskararaya clearly
implies that the best or superior course is to first perform purashcharana and then
continue with nitya-japa. Not doing purashcharana but only doing nitya japa can thus be
inferred as adhama but acceptable paksha for the second case discussed above.